pillow

Pronunciation

• IPA: UK /ˈpɪl.əʊ/, US /ˈpɪl.oʊ/^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old English pyle, pylu, cushion, pillow (before 899, in Alfred's Orosius),^[2][3][4] which comes from Proto-West Germanic *pulwī, an early borrowing of Latin pulvīnus (“cushion, pillow”),^[2][3][4][5] which is of uncertain origin.^[2] It is cognate with Old Saxon puli, Dutch peluw, bolster, and German Pfühl.^[2][4][6] Barnhart notes that in some cases the Middle English word was also borrowed directly from Latin.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

A support for the head in sleeping, a cushion: about 897.^[7][2]

Semantic evolution

Middle English had many forms: pule (about 1150), pilowe (about 1350) and pillow (1440).^[2][7] The verb, to rest on a pillow, is from 1629, in Milton's Nativity Ode,^[2][3][5] the 1620s in Etymonline.^[3] The pad on which bobbin lace is made is also a pillow.^[8][9] Pillow talk is a modern compound.^[1]

Timeline

• c. 897 – pyle, a cushion.^[7]
• c. 1150 – pule.^[2]
• 1440 – the spelling pillow.^[2]
• 1629 – to pillow (verb).^[2][5]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A cloth case stuffed with something soft, used to support the head in sleep.
2. A decorative cushion.
3. A padded cushion on which pillow lace is made.

Verb

1. To rest the head on, or as on, a pillow.

Word family

• pillowy
• pillowless
• pillowlike
• pillowcase
• pillowslip
• lace pillow
• pillow block
• pillow lace

Related words

• pulvinar

References

1. ^ a b Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
3. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b c Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ a b c Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
8. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
9. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins